Springs can fatigue, but the first thing I'd check is all the mating connections, nut to neck, neck to body, etc. and make sure they're all tight.

 

The guitar has never been gig'd but has been played daily for the past five years or so.

Check the blades for wear and the post's at the contact point, have you lubed them with anything in this 5 years?

 

All the connections are tight. No I have not lubed it at all ever! SHould I have? what should I use? The blades look good except for a very small "nick" where the blade on the bass side meets the post. I think it is from adjusting the string height without loosening the strings. I doesn't look like enough to cause this problem but maybe it is. Should I file the blade? even for a very small "nick"?

 

I would replace the post and have someone whos good at sharpening blades do it. Rich harris has an excellent section on sharpengin trem post at www.ibanezrules.com just applie the same stuff to your trs trem and voila

 

I would be willing to bet thats part of your problem, follow the advice from sniperfrommars1 !

 

K I will replace the posts and file the blade this weekend. What about lubricating the knife edge as someone had mentioned? Should this be done as well?

 

Yeah. Just a little lube. You can use wd40, squeaky juice, zebco fishing reel oil*I love this lubricant*. lol

 

I'd never recomend an oil based lube, it's just going to atract dirt. If you must use a lube use one that's graphite based.

 

Yes stick with dry lubes like Rich said..........

In a pinch you can use the lead from a number 2 pencil It's made of graphite

 

You learn something new everyday! I never thought about lubricating the contact points.Thanks

 

Okay I bought new posts, filed the knife edges, two new springs (left one old one on), new strings, did the nail poilish trick for the whammy bar, and my TRSII is working better than new. What a difference! I can practicaly stand on the bar and it will still come back in tune. Thanks for all the advice.


***One tip I can offer is for the posts. My posts were a little loose in thier sockets. This might be common with 470's I'm not sure. The sockets were not loose in the body of the guitar but just when you thread in the post it would jiggle a little bit. So I used some plumbers tape on the threads of the posts and it tightened them right up.

 

Plumbers tape?? cool concept, Ive been using nail polish, epoxy, lol, just whatever to experiment a little. Ill try the plumbers tape sometime too

 

Yep plumbers tape is great because it works itself really tight into the threads. (tight enough to stop water from leaking through). Plus it's not permanent. When you remove the post the tape is easy to take off.

 

Getting back to the original question, replacing the springs is a cheap and easy thing to do.

I did it when i first got my Jem and it made all the difference in the world for about five bucks and minimal effort. just be prepared to loosen the claw srews a LOT ~ esp. if the guitar is old and/or well-played. You'll have to tighten them up a bit once the springs start to stretch out.

~Kenny